Imperial Yachts Museum

Peterhof is one of the most beautiful seaside residences of Russian emperors, so no surprise that in 2004 it was chosen as a place for the Imperial Yachts Museum.

The museum’s exposition gets the visitor acquainted with little-know pages of the life of the imperial family. Here one can see Peter the Great’s cloak, Catherine the Second’s navy uniform, pictures and models of the imperial yachts, special yacht dinner services and artworks, dedicated to the history of the Baltic fleet.

The history of Russian imperial yachts dates back to the times of Peter the Great. Since his early years future Russian Emperor had been dreaming of the sea, and later, during his trip to Europe he even acquired a profession of a shipwright. The restitution of Russian power in the Baltic lands stimulated the country’s ship building industry. Since 1702 the yachts for nobility had been built at Voronezh shipyards. After the first victories in the Northern war Peter I started building Russian naval fleet. Several frigates and snows were built in 1703-1704. Among them was the ship called “Munker”, designed by the tsar himself. The vessel’s model is now on display in the museum.

Yacht building continues to develop in times of Catherine II, but its golden age begins during the reign of Nicholas I. Among the 22 yachts, built for the imperial family and Russian officials, there were both small sailing boats of modest design and comfortable vessels with splendid interiors, special furniture and unique dinner services.

They started building spacious comfortable yachts for long voyages, including the ones intended specially for the crown princes in the second half of the 19th century. The yacht “Standart”, laid in Copenhagen in 1893 was among them. This was the biggest and most technically-advanced ocean yacht of its time. According to the numerous photos, the yacht belonged to the crown prince Aleksey.

After the October Revolution imperial yachts suffered a cruel fate. Many of them were dissembled or turned into targets for anti-ship ammunition testing. The Imperial Yachts Museum offers a great opportunity to see these beautiful ships once again.